He just simpered. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” he said before taking a pull of his beer.
I tried to stifle a giggle but failed, resulting in Fiona sending a withering glare in my direction.
“I’m serious,” she hissed.
I held my hands up in surrender. “I’m not going to make you sleep with Kip.”
“Oh, no one’s going to have to make her,” he chimed in, eyes dancing with amusement.
“There’s not enough money or penicillin in the entire world,” she told him sweetly.
“And there’s not enough booze in the entire world to get me drunk enough to go close enough to get those nails sunk into me,” he replied without missing a beat.
All of their interactions the rest of the night had been somewhat similar. It was amusing to watch, though I was disappointed that it wasn’t going to work out between them.
It felt nice, though. Sitting there together, listening to them rib each other while tucked into Rowan’s side, his finger drawing lazy circles on my arm.
I started to get distracted when that finger was no longer drawing lazy circles on my arm, but slipping under the fabric of my tee and running all the way up my ribs to the underside of my breast.
We were positioned in a way that it wasn’t obvious to our two best friends that Rowan’s callused fingers were moving toward my nipple, but I was not exactly skilled at schooling my reactions when it came to this man and his hands on me.
I wasn’t used to him and his touch, his easy affection or the way my body exploded with desire with every passing minute.
Luckily for me, the pizza was done, the tart was consumed, and the night was drawing to a close, with both Kip and Fiona needing to get back to their respective homes.
“Unless you’ve decided to keep lying to yourself, conquer your fears and come home with me?” Kip offered Fiona at the door.
She made a disgusted face. “If I decide to come home with you, just know I’ve been possessed by some kind of demonic entity and someone needs to call Jensen Ackles.”” She leaned in to kiss me goodbye, nodding at Rowan then flipping Kip the bird.
He was not perturbed in the slightest, beaming at both Rowan and me. “She’s gonna fall in love with me when she least expects it.” He winked before sauntering out the door.
Both Rowan and I stood in front of the closed door, his arms around me, listening to the crunch of tires against gravel as our two best friends left.
I didn’t want to ask if he was going to leave too, because I didn’t want him to leave. I knew I was supposed to want him to leave. To create boundaries, hold on to the independence I’d only recently won back from a man. But I didn’t. And I felt guilty about that.
So, I just stood there, next to him, acting like if I didn’t move, I wouldn’t have to make any kind of decisions, act like a responsible adult.
Rowan did not seem to be struggling with any of the same kind of issues.
Luckily.
He whirled me around as the sound of Kip’s truck engine retreated into the night.
My heartbeat quickened as my eyes met his, full of hunger.
“I fuckin’ love your curves,” he rumbled, running his hands down the sides of my body.
Despite everything we’d done, the intimate way he knew my body, I still trembled at the delicate touch.
“Good,” I gulped, finding it hard to hold on to coherent thought. “Curves are an occupational hazard. Don’t you know you should never trust a skinny baker?”
Rowan didn’t respond to my joke. His hands drifted to the bottom of my sweater, then he pulled it up.
I lifted my arms in compliance, my nipples already pebbling, my pussy tingling with need.
From the look on Rowan’s face, from the way his body flexed with need, and from the delicious shape of his cock pressing against his jeans, I thought that he was going to yank me to him. Kiss me. Lift me up and carry me upstairs to my bedroom.
I would’ve been partial to any and all of those things. To be honest, I felt as if I might go insane if he didn’t do one or all of those things.
Except he didn’t.
He stepped back so his hands were no longer on me, so I could no longer feel the heat of his body.
“Stay there,” he growled as I took a step toward him on instinct.
My body froze in place at his command, my heartbeat thrashing, panties already soaked.
“Take off your bra,” Rowan ordered.
Shaking, I reached my arms around to unclasp my bra, the lace tumbling onto the ground beside my feet.
Rowan’s eyes zeroed in on my nipples, rubbing at his lips with his entire hand. They ached as they hardened even further.